xi, 324 pages ; 24 cm

"In Forensics Under Fire, Jim Fisher makes a compelling case that the problems in the practice of forensic science allow offenders to escape justice and can also lead to the imprisonment of innocent people. Bringing together examples from a host of high-profile criminal cases, Fisher presents daunting evidence that forensic science has a long way to go before it lives up to its potential and the public's expectations."--Jacket

Includes bibliographical references (pages 387-324) and index

Forensic pathologists from hell : bungled autopsies, bad calls, and blown cases -- A question of credibility : bad reputations and the politics of death -- The sudden infant death debate Dr. Roy Meadow, Munchausen syndrome by proxy and Meadow's law -- Infants who can't breathe : illness or suffocation? -- Swollen brains and broken bones : disease or infanticide? -- Fingerprint identification : trouble in paradise -- Fingerprints never lie : except in Scotland -- Shoe print identification and foot morphology : the lay witness and the Cinderella analysis -- Bite mark identification : do teeth leave prints? -- Ear-mark identification : emerging science or bad evidence? -- Expert versus expert : the handwriting wars in the Ramsey case -- John Mark Karr : DNA Trumps the graphologists in the Ramsey case -- Hair and fiber identification : the inexact science -- DNA analysis : backlogs, sloppy work, and unqualified people -- Bullet identification : FBI style overselling the science -- The celebrity expert : Dr. Henry Lee

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